Just months after Team GB won nine cycling medals in the Olympics, London’s biking mecca, the café Look Mum No Hands, revealed it will be opening a second branch.
The business, which was the first of its kind in London when it opened in 2010, offers cycling enthusiasts a space to eat, drink and indulge in all things bike.
Co-founder Lewin Chalkey confirmed that plans are underway for a venue, although a suitable space is proving hard to find.
Mr Chalkey said: “We’re looking for café number two. We’re after a tall order. If we were just rolling out a coffee shop with coffee or cake it would be fine but we want bike space, a local working population and to be on a commuter route.”
Despite the doping scandal surrounding Lance Armstrong and his subsequent resignation from the board of cancer charity Livestrong, Mr Chalkey’s passion for the sport has not been dampened.
He said: “None of this has been a surprise to anyone really…It was rife in cycling. Armstrong is a scapegoat, a figure we can all hate.
“I won’t find the Tour de France any less exciting. It’s always been surrounded by scandal.”
For now, Mr Chalkey is focusing less on Armstrong’s fall from grace and more on promoting cycling across London.
“Cycling becoming more and more popular will provoke action. It’s just going to be a tide and they [the government] will have to respond.
“At around 5.30 or 6.00pm we outnumber the cars and it feels good. That will happen more and more and that will make the infrastructure stronger,” he said.
